


A Leap of Faith

by pan_dora



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Canon Divergence, M/M, One-Shot, Steo, canon divergence - post season 6a, post 6a, theo/stiles - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-16
Updated: 2017-08-16
Packaged: 2018-12-16 05:54:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11822586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pan_dora/pseuds/pan_dora
Summary: Stiles heard about Theo's living situation - after everything that had happened, he decided to do something about it.





	A Leap of Faith

“That was quick.”

Theo opened and closed his mouth. He didn’t look quite as ferocious as Stiles remembered and his clothes were in a rather destitute manner; not dirty just worn. Over all, his appearance was clean. But he looked gaunt and exhausted. Which might be explained due to the fact that he’d driven almost two days straight to get here – on a whim, one could say. Since he hadn’t known what would await him here. Stiles didn’t even know whether Theo was aware that he lived in Quantico now. They hadn’t exactly met after Stiles had gotten out of the Wild Hunt. Still, he somewhat wouldn’t be surprised at all if Theo very well knew where Stiles was living and why; while Stiles couldn’t understand the reasons, the guy had never thought about leaving that hellhole of a town.

Liam had told Stiles about Theo’s current living situation. Scott couldn’t since he, too, had finally left Beacon Hills for the Utah State University. UC Davis hadn’t been all too pleased with his grades. Lydia was rocking MIT, which could hardly be called surprising. Malia had been held back a grade – it was astonishing she’d made it into senior year in the first place – but their contact was barely existent. She hadn’t taken it too well that Lydia and Stiles loved each other; or thought they would love each other when in truth they had mistaken platonic love for the romantic kind. Mistakes had been made. But, oh well, it hadn’t exactly destroyed their relationship.

“ _Stiles_.” Theo sounded a lot more surprised than Stiles had suspected him to be. Honestly, he somewhat thought the guy would be smug as hell arriving here.

“Get your shit and get in,” Stiles said gesturing toward the car.

Theo’s scowl didn’t appear to be half as villainous as it had used to which could be attributed to how wretched his overall appearance was. Seriously, the guy looked like he was in desperate need of a feeding and at least a week of sleep. Truth be told, Stiles _had_ thought about buying two dog bowls engraved with Theo’s name – just to spite him. But he had decided against it. After all, he wanted to offer him help and not piss him off so much that he turned on his heels and left. He really was trying. Not only because Theo had played a part in his rescue but also because of his saving Liam. The kid had, although Stiles really tried his hardest not to get attached, wormed his way into his heart and became the little brother Stiles had never known he wanted until he had it – annoying best friend included.

Instead of a retort, Theo pushed past Stiles silently after glowering at him for a couple more seconds. Thankfully. Because it was a cold and rainy day today. Hopefully that wasn’t any kind of indication of how this whole – arguably mildly idiotic – idea would turn out.

“Make yourself comfortable,” Stiles muttered shutting the door behind him. His apartment wasn’t exactly huge. Two bedrooms, a bathroom and something that could only be described as a kitchen with a space for a TV, coffee table and a sofa or a dining table. But who needed a dining table? Seriously. His bedroom’s furniture consisted of a bed, a desk, a dresser and two bookshelves. He was thinking about moving his desk and shelves into the empty room now that his roommate moved out. He could afford the rent on his own with the scholarship and the money he earned with his side job as a tutor at the local college. But after hearing about Theo's current situation, Stiles somehow couldn’t bring himself to ignore the dire circumstances.

Theo put his backpack on the floor beside the couch before he dropped onto it. “As Liam gave me the address, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect,” he explained as Stiles leaned against the doorframe. His voice sounded gravelly, almost like he hadn’t used it so much for quite some time. “I mean, not that Quantico hadn’t had your name written all over it. Still-“ He ended there shrugging. His eyes roamed over the coffee table, taking in the three pizzas and different beverages. Everybody and their brother knew that Stiles hadn’t ordered three pizzas for himself and he usually didn’t have soft drinks, lemonades, different juices _and_ water at home. He usually lived on coffee and water alone. Even his fridge had more food in it than Stiles would usually need for two weeks. It was stupid. He couldn't possibly know if Theo agreed to this arrangement or if Stiles ended up asking in the first place – and yet here he was with a fridge he had filled on a whim always wondering how much a chimera needed to eat. Last time Liam and Mason had visited, Stiles had needed to go grocery shopping _twice_.

“It’s for you.” He gestured towards the pizzas. “I don’t know what you like so I got the usual suspects.” Which meant tuna, spinach and salami. Actually, he had simply ordered the first two pizzas on the menu and a vegetarian one for himself after Liam had told him that Theo had send a quick text about arriving in Quantico. Stiles hadn’t expected him to take so long to find his apartment. But the food was still warm. So, there's that.

Theo squinted at him. “You ordered food for me?”

“It’s not laced with wolf's bane.”

“Since when do you care?”

Stiles ran a hand over his face. For a moment, he hesitated in the doorway. It took approximately half a second before he scolded himself a moron. This was his apartment. He could move around as much as he wanted to. With a sigh, he sat down on the other end of the couch facing Theo. “Since you-“ Stiles bit the inside of his cheek. This was something he had meant to ask for a while now. After everything that had happened with the Wild Hunt, they hadn’t seen each other and Stiles hadn’t exactly gone on a search for him. But now that the opportunity presented itself he _needed_ to know. “Liam said you remembered me. I just don’t understand why.” He understood why Lydia had remembered him. For one, she was a banshee. For another, they were each other’s emotional tethers. A special kind of love. Scott and his dad, even Malia; it made sense that they had eventually started to remember him, too. But Theo had been freed and hadn’t seemed to have forgotten him at all when everyone else had.

“You made me drive all this way for this stupid question?” Theo asked eyes widening slightly.

Stiles shook his head. “No,” he admitted, “but I want to know anyway how it was possible for you to remember immediately when nobody else could.”

“Why did you want me to come?”

“Is it your default setting to answer questions with a counter-question?” Stiles snapped. Honestly, he was already regretting to have invited Theo over. Even if he agreed, they would be at each other’s throat after a week tops. “Just answer the fucking question.”

Theo curled his lips into a tight line. It was hard to tell whether he tried to hide a smirk or was actually pissed off. “What makes you think I know?”

“Because you knew about the Wild Hunt,” Stiles replied curling his hands into tight fists, “Nobody but a banshee should be able to get away with it. But you did.”

Theo scoffed. “In case you missed it, I was in Hell. With my sister. Perhaps there was some interference – or a disturbance in the force.”

Stiles wasn’t a werewolf. He couldn’t hear when someone was lying to him. But he was on his way to become an FBI agent. His instincts had always been right- _ish_ beforehand anyway. Furthermore, he could be a cunning and manipulative bastard himself. If he wanted to. It was surprisingly easy to work himself into the thoughts of a criminal during their lectures – it’s not that hard with a person he had known and studied for quite some time now. The only reason Theo wouldn't tell him was because it could most likely be used against him. But Stiles knew as well that he couldn’t force the guy to answer. Theo wasn’t any less stubborn than he was.

“Okay,” he said after a silence that lasted just long enough for Theo to become aware that Stiles didn't believe him. “You’re probably right.”

Without further ado, Stiles angled for the remote to switch the TV back on. He’d paused an episode Game of Thrones halfway. Good thing, he was only rewatching anyway in preparation of the new season because his thoughts had been all over the place. “Do you mind?” Stiles asked opening the pizza boxes.

Theo stared at him mouth opening and closing. For a brief second, he had a startling resemblance to a fish out of water. Then he shook his head – either to shake off any kind of thoughts he had or to answer the question. He didn’t say anything either just watched as Stiles helped himself to a slice of pizza and dropped it onto his dish. As Jon Snow stumbled his way through the snow, Stiles shuffled in a more comfortable position. First as he took a bite, Theo moved to follow his example.

They watched in silence for quite some time. Theo devoured the two pizzas almost alone, leaving behind barely a fifth of the salami pizza while Stiles didn’t even finish his own. He'd gulped down enough water and soft drinks that Stiles figured the chimera was at the very least well fed – no matter how this evening would turn out. The whole time, he could feel Theo’s eyes dragging over him then and again. It wasn’t anything new, to be fair. Theo had done it before – and Stiles had a suspicion as to why that might be. For his own sanity, he tended to ignore it very hard. But most of the time they had either been in peril or not alone which had helped him not to act on it.

“Stiles.”

 _Fuck_.

“Hm?” If he sounded tired or distracted, maybe Theo wouldn’t say anything further.

To his utter surprise, he was silent again for quite some time. Then he turned completely away from a – once again complaining – Sansa. “You didn't answer my question.”

Could he get away with playing dumb? “What question?”

Theo narrowed his eyes.

No, he wouldn’t get away with playing dumb. It was worth a shot, though. Stiles paused the show again, then turned around to face Theo – thereby scratching together every ounce of courage he could muster. This shouldn’t be so hard as it was right now. “I was told about your, uh, situation,” Stiles began awkwardly wondering if he could say Liam had been the one spilling the beans. Theo might not react all too well. He never wanted to ask for help and he wasn’t any better taking it. Liam could potentially be in trouble for going ahead and doing it for him. “The thing is,” Stiles said pointedly _not_ looking at Theo, “I would- I mean, I don’t know if you want to stay there and if you do- I know where you’re coming from... although that doesn’t mean I understand it-“ He was rambling, right? But Theo seemed to find it funny. For the first time since his arrival, his lips curled into something resembling a smirk – and Stiles’ traitorous heart told every werecreature in the vicinity exactly what he thought about that. His body was working against him. _Again_. “I mean, the town is a horror show. _But_ we were born there and all that jazz, so. Anyway,” Stiles interrupted himself watching somewhat nervously as Theo leaned towards him, the small smirk now more a grin than anything else, “I have a spare room.”

“A _spare_ _room_. How exciting,” Theo mocked grin broadening, “This information was worth the two-day drive. I’ll go home a new person.”

Stiles clenched his teeth. Theo would make him say the words, no doubt there. He’d no sooner give a normal reply – although he bloody well knew what Stiles was hinting at. “Go home _where_?” He snapped then somewhat childishly.

The response put a dent in Theo’s grin. His eyes darkened. “That was low,” he replied hollow, “even for you.”

Stiles tried to swallow the guilt clawing up its way but couldn’t. This was one of the reasons why the whole idea was terrible. Theo knew exactly what to say to make him angry remarkably quickly and Stiles was very aware of how to hurt someone. They weren’t so different, the two of them – just that Stiles had his homicidal urges under control. But Theo, as it seemed, did too now. He should apologise. The words, however, wouldn’t go past his lips. “Someone needs to put you in your place.”

“I didn’t come here to be insulted by you,” Theo snarled.

Stiles closed his eyes for a moment. As he opened them, Theo was already standing angling for his backpack. In a heap of panicked worry, Stiles grabbed his hand effectively stopping him from leaving. “Move in with me.” It wasn’t clear what petrified Theo – the touch or the words – because he didn’t react for a while; and neither did he look up from where their hands met.

“Why?” Theo asked at last.

 _‘Because I want you to’_ was the honest answer, the one Stiles’ brain tried to make him say. It wasn’t the one he was going to give him. “You deserve a second chance,” he replied instead.

“And you’re ready to give me one?” Theo sounded oddly cold and distanced. He attempted to free his hand but Stiles instinctively tightened his grip on him – against all common sense.

Stiles looked up at him. “Yes.”

“Why?” Theo forced him further into the corner – and he would continue to do so until Stiles gave him an answer that would satisfy him.

“You saved me.”

“I killed Scott.”

“You were in Hell,” Stiles immediately retorted, expecting the answer, “and you helped saving me again.”

Theo finally locked eyes with him. Silence lowered itself onto them stealing the air right out of Stiles' lungs. Nobody moved for a terribly long time – that’s why it took him even more by surprise as Theo suddenly yanked him to his feet and slammed him back first into the next best wall. “I wanted to find you first,” he admitted fingers tightening around the collar of Stiles' sweater, “I wanted to find you before they remembered you. I wanted you to see that _I_ haven’t forgotten you.” Theo didn’t look him in the eye now, instead focused on his fingers curling into the soft fabric. Stiles tried to ignore his heart pounding against his ribcage. “I wanted to keep you to myself.” There was another silence, much shorter this time but even heavier than the first. “I still want to.”

Stiles took a steadying breath, his heart, however, wouldn’t slow down. With each word it would pound harder and harder – not leaving any questions as to what they were doing to him. “Maybe I would have let you.” Words that hadn’t seemed real for the longest time slipped past his lips now tasting of honesty – even though he knew he would have never gone through with it after all. He wouldn’t have been able to leave his friends behind. He wouldn’t have been able to leave his father alone.

Theo’s head snapped up. As they locked eyes yet again, some form of silent understanding passed between them. Stiles breathed in, when Theo breathed out. They stood there. Silent. Waiting. Slowly, they inched closer – and when their breathing fell in-sync, the two slammed into each other. There wasn’t anything gentle about it, nothing romantic or full of tenderness. That wasn’t their way. That wasn’t who they were. They kissed and bit and clawed at each other, tore at each other’s clothes. They snarled at each other. They left marks; only physical ones this time.

They didn’t talk afterwards and instead fell asleep in silence – both buried deep in their thoughts, backs to each other.

But as Stiles woke up with only the barest hint of dawn worming its way through his window, he found himself enveloped by a warm body with a hand pressed to his chest; right over his heart. Although he hadn’t had someone in his bed for a long time and had never woken up beside someone – that wasn’t something reserved for a one-night-stand – he felt strangely calm. He hadn’t expected to find Theo still beside him. For some reason, he had fallen asleep with the gnawing hunch of waking up alone. Yesterday, he was sure he’d made a grave mistake; sleeping with Theo, allowing him in, allowing himself to give into something he’d tried to squash as soon as it had emerged.

Now, he tried to stifle a smile wanting to form on his lips.

“Hey.” Theo’s voice whisked over his neck, rough and full of sleep.

Stiles closed his eyes for a moment. For a heartbeat, he hesitated. Although he knew Theo could hear that he was awake, he thought about pretending otherwise. Then he shuffled around until he was facing the chimera. Like a sunrise, Stiles watched a smile form on Theo’s lips; so honest and open and _happy_ it spread a warmth inside his chest Stiles hadn’t felt since what appeared to be forever now.

“Hey,” he replied at last and raised his hand to place it on Theo’s cheek, who closed his eyes.

It seemed rather odd and out of place; especially knowing the monster crawling underneath his skin – a monster so carefully constructed by the Dread Doctors that it might not be leaving this boy completely. But this, right now, this very moment was something to be treasured. It was hope and change and future crammed into one. It was worry and a leap of faith sprinkled on top. Stiles snuggled up to Theo, hiding his face at his collarbone. The smile forming on his lips, as arms curled tightly around him, pressed into warm skin.

“Are you staying?”

“If you want me to.”

Stiles scrunched up his nose. “Nah.”

Theo nipped his side. “Jackass.”

“Get used to it,” Stiles muttered burying his face in the crook of his neck, “I won’t be nice just because I took a liking to you.”

“I’d be worried if you did.”

Stiles bit him. Theo slapped his ass.

Grinning, Stiles decided to live in blissful ignorance for as long as he could because reality would be nasty as soon as he had to face the consequences of this decision. But as he felt Theo relax against him, breathing evening out as he fell asleep again, Stiles thought that – although it wouldn’t be easy – it might be worth it.  


End file.
